US sports + NFL | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/us-sport+nfl
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Tue, 31 Mar 2015 22:31:47 GMT2015-03-31T22:31:47Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
Aaron Hernandez told me he was innocent of murder, says Patriots ownerhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/31/aaron-hernandez-told-me-he-was-innocent-of-says-patriots-owner
<ul><li>Former tight end on trial for killing of Odin Lloyd</li><li>Player spoke to Robert Kraft after death of Lloyd<br></li></ul><p>Kraft was called by the prosecution in Hernandez’s murder trial over the June 2013, killing of Odin Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee.</p><p>He at times seemed uncomfortable on the stand, even when he was asked where he worked. He first said 1 Patriot Place, the address of Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots play. When asked what he did at work, he replied, “Whatever they ask me to do.” Then, asked if he ran a business, he replied: “We’re a packaging and paper business and private equity, and we have two sports teams.” He first listed the New England Revolution soccer team, then the Patriots.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/31/aaron-hernandez-told-me-he-was-innocent-of-says-patriots-owner">Continue reading...</a>New England PatriotsNFLUS sportsSportUS newsTue, 31 Mar 2015 15:28:39 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/31/aaron-hernandez-told-me-he-was-innocent-of-says-patriots-ownerPhotograph: Brian Snyder/APAaron Hernandez said he was in a club at the time of Odin Lloyd’s death.Photograph: Brian Snyder/APAaron Hernandez said he was in a club at the time of Odin Lloyd’s death.Associated Press in Fall River2015-03-31T15:28:39ZOur favourite things this week: from La Liga's smallest club to prehistoric fishinghttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/31/our-favourite-things-this-week-la-liga-eibar-portsmouth
<p>Featuring the award-winning Harry Kewell, Eibar v Barcelona, Ireland’s greatest athlete, the future of the Six Nations and the noble world of autograph hunters</p><p>It’s stating the obvious, but not enough websites are like the <strong><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/index.html">New York Times</a></strong>. While so many other publications are busy <a href="http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/Football?JavaScript=1&amp;searchheadlines=&amp;search=manchester+united">chasing each other’s tales</a> in a race to the bottom, the Times go a little off-piste and dig out interesting and fresh stories. Last week they gave us <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/20/favourite-things-this-week-football-cartoons-mike-tyson-quotes">a short film about the greatest bowling story ever told</a> and this week they have brought us a picture gallery about spearfishing. </p><p>If you're fishing for dinosaurs, a rod won't cut it. You're going to want a spear. Photos: <a href="http://t.co/o4aCajJcj1">http://t.co/o4aCajJcj1</a> <a href="http://t.co/I3Nkip0hAr">pic.twitter.com/I3Nkip0hAr</a></p><p>The points-scoring system of the Six Nations has not changed since the 1800s, so in previous rounds there were only two points on offer. The coaches had little to gain from playing attacking rugby, so they risked very little. On Saturday, with the trophy up for grabs, the two competition points were irrelevant. Scoring points was essential. In Rome, London and Edinburgh, there was the proof that running rugby in Six Nations games can be wonderful to behold. The style of rugby played was equal to anything in the south. To all of those who have been haranguing me with their excuses on why in Six Nations rugby you cannot possibly play running rugby – because of the weather, the tradition, the games are too tense, the referees are different – the weekend’s games proved that those excuses are a crock of lies. So all of you burdened and weighed down, with those ancient feelings of northern hemisphere guilt and inhibition, you are now free to cast off your yoke of a kicking game. Brothers and sisters of the northern hemisphere, you are saved. You are free to love the running game. Go forth and spread the good news about the game they play in heaven.</p><p>102-летний болельщик московского *Спартака* Отто Фишер. <a href="http://t.co/BZeBsqDtDF">pic.twitter.com/BZeBsqDtDF</a></p><p>Brian Flam has spent a good part of the last 30 years sending letters to relative nobodies and toting cartons of baseball cards from his Maryland home to cities up and down the eastern seaboard in pursuit of scrawls legible only to a select few. By all relevant accounts, Flam is a master of the craft of autograph seeking, known within the field as graphing. The roughly 150,000 signed cards, filed into 5,000-count boxes that line the walls of his home office, testify to this distinction. Aspiring graphers seek his counsel on topics such as his preferred pen (the Staedtler Lumocolor, fine-point, blue) and canvas (ideally an officially-issued trading card, but the 3.5” by 2.5” “Autograph Card” of Flam’s own engineering works in extenuating circumstances). Flam focuses on Minor League Baseball but not to the exclusion of the big leagues. He collects the signatures of Hall of Famers on two separate balls, one for “real Hall of Famers” and another for “scrub Hall of Famers,” a material distinction he explains by posing the question: “Do you really want Bruce Sutter touching the same ball that Mickey Mantle signed?”</p><p>“Everywhere I go in the world, it’s warmer. People say: ‘We used to have six months of winter but now we have three.’ I was in Ilulissat, Greenland, where they are building a skateboard ramp for the kids because now they get five months of skateboard weather in Greenland, where they used to get two. I don’t need reams of scientific research; I can just look. In my world it’s dead clear that things are radically changing.”</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/31/our-favourite-things-this-week-la-liga-eibar-portsmouth">Continue reading...</a>SportFootballUS sportsLa LigaNorthern IrelandEuropean club footballPFA Player of the Year awardsPortsmouthFishingNFLEibarIreland rugby union teamRugby unionTue, 31 Mar 2015 10:38:18 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/31/our-favourite-things-this-week-la-liga-eibar-portsmouthPhotograph: Tom JenkinsHarry Kewell looking young.Photograph: Tom JenkinsHarry Kewell looking young.Paul Campbell2015-03-31T10:38:18ZThe results are in: every single US sports team is blue-collarhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/31/the-results-are-in-every-single-us-sports-team-is-blue-collar
<p>A quick scan of the internet reveals teams revelling in their working class roots. Something that’s undermined in the age of corporate boxes<br></p><p>Quick question: Which US sports team has the most blue-collar fans?</p><p>Is it Philadelphia? Last week, Jimmy Rollins said the city was “not conducive for a superstar” <a href="http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/los-angeles-dodgers-philadelphia-phillies-jimmy-rollins-q-a-032315">because it is so blue collar</a>. Or maybe it’s across the state. Actor Joe Manganiello, who did a documentary on Steelers fans in Los Angeles, <a href="http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Talking-Steelers-Football-Joe-Manganiello/aa133441-a402-4f2b-93d3-9a039135039d">said hard-working, blue-collar</a> fans root for the Steelers — even if they’ve never been to Pittsburgh.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/31/the-results-are-in-every-single-us-sports-team-is-blue-collar">Continue reading...</a>US sportsSportNFLMLBNBANHLTue, 31 Mar 2015 10:00:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/31/the-results-are-in-every-single-us-sports-team-is-blue-collarPhotograph: Gene Puskar/APThe Pittsburgh Steelers celebrate tying for first place in the Blue Collar Bowl with 31 other NFL teams.Photograph: Gene Puskar/APThe Pittsburgh Steelers celebrate tying for first place in the Blue Collar Bowl with 31 other NFL teams.Dan McQuade2015-03-31T10:00:05ZAtlanta Falcons stripped of 2016 Draft pick over fake crowd noisehttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/30/atlanta-falcons-to-be-stripped-of-draft-pick-over-fake-crowd-noise-say-reports
<ul><li>Team’s president suspended from competition committee<br></li><li>Falcons also fined $350,000<br></li></ul><p>The Atlanta Falcons will be stripped of a fifth-round Draft pick in 2016 and fined $350,000 for playing artificial crowd noise in their stadium. The Falcons president, Rich McKay, is also be suspended from the NFL’s competition committee for three months.</p><p>The Falcons piped noise into the Georgia Dome over the last two years in order to disrupt opposition teams calling plays in the huddle. The NFL said the Falcons’ former director of team marketing, Roddy White, had been responsible for the artifical noise but McKay still bore some blame. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/30/atlanta-falcons-to-be-stripped-of-draft-pick-over-fake-crowd-noise-say-reports">Continue reading...</a>Atlanta FalconsNFLUS sportsSportMon, 30 Mar 2015 15:59:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/30/atlanta-falcons-to-be-stripped-of-draft-pick-over-fake-crowd-noise-say-reportsPhotograph: Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesThe Falcons had a 3-4 record in their home stadium last season.Photograph: Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesThe Falcons had a 3-4 record in their home stadium last season.Tom Lutz2015-03-30T15:59:13ZWWE headliner Brock Lesnar is a true athletehttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/27/wrestling-is-scripted-but-wrestlemania-headliner-brock-lesnar-is-a-true-athlete
<p>He’s won an NCAA wrestling title, a UFC championship and impressed in NFL training camp, so why doesn’t Brock Lesnar get more credit as a sportsman?<br></p><p>Brock Lesnar was going for a heavyweight championship, and he was in a bit of trouble.</p><p>Lesnar had taken a 2-0 lead at the 2000 NCAA wrestling championships, but Wes Hand had tied the match on two stalling points handed out by the referee. If there were ropes in collegiate wrestling, Lesnar would have been on them. Hand dominated the first overtime, but Lesnar – who the announcers called “Lez-naar” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYgPH80oITA">on ESPN’s broadcast</a> – held on for a second overtime. Lesnar won the coin toss, chose the down position and escaped with nine seconds left to win the point and the championship.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/27/wrestling-is-scripted-but-wrestlemania-headliner-brock-lesnar-is-a-true-athlete">Continue reading...</a>UFCUS sportsWrestlingSportNFLMinnesota VikingsExtreme sportsFri, 27 Mar 2015 18:41:54 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/27/wrestling-is-scripted-but-wrestlemania-headliner-brock-lesnar-is-a-true-athletePhotograph: APBrock Lesnar’s win at UFC 100 was the biggest pay-per-view in organization history with 1.6m buys.Photograph: APBrock Lesnar’s win at UFC 100 was the biggest pay-per-view in organization history with 1.6m buys.Dan McQuade2015-03-27T18:41:54ZNFL free-agency grades: Seahawks, Packers, Eagles at head of NFC classhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/27/nfl-free-agency-grades-seahawks-packers-eagles-at-head-of-nfc-class
<p>Green Bay resisted change, Philadelphia embraced it – and then some! – while the two-time defending conference champions did a little of both <br></p><p><strong>Dallas Cowboys</strong></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/25/nfl-free-agency-grades-new-york-jets-top-the-afc">NFL free-agency grades: New York Jets top the AFC</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/27/nfl-free-agency-grades-seahawks-packers-eagles-at-head-of-nfc-class">Continue reading...</a>NFLDallas CowboysPhiladelphia EaglesNew York GiantsWashington (NFL team)Green Bay PackersDetroit LionsMinnesota VikingsChicago BearsCarolina PanthersNew Orleans SaintsAtlanta FalconsTampa Bay BuccaneersSeattle SeahawksArizona CardinalsSan Francisco 49ersSt Louis RamsSportUS sportsFri, 27 Mar 2015 09:00:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/27/nfl-free-agency-grades-seahawks-packers-eagles-at-head-of-nfc-classPhotograph: APSeattle’s offseason will be judged by how the Jimmy Graham trade plays out.Photograph: APSeattle’s offseason will be judged by how the Jimmy Graham trade plays out.Paolo Bandini2015-03-27T09:00:08ZNFL set to change extra-point and take action on ineligible receivershttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/25/nfl-set-to-change-extra-point-and-take-action-on-ineligible-receivers
<ul><li>Owners to discuss extra-point rules in May</li><li>Lining up ineligible receiver will cost penalty<br></li></ul><p>Spicing up the NFL’s dullest play, the extra point, appears to be coming for the 2015 season.</p><p>While team owners didn’t vote on any extra-point proposals on Wednesday, there was so much discussion and interest in potential changes that the issue will be a main focal point for the next set of league meetings in May. In the meantime, co-chairman Rich McKay said his competition committee would “develop alternatives and be ready for a potential vote” in two months in San Francisco.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/25/nfl-set-to-change-extra-point-and-take-action-on-ineligible-receivers">Continue reading...</a>NFLSportUS sportsWed, 25 Mar 2015 19:24:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/25/nfl-set-to-change-extra-point-and-take-action-on-ineligible-receiversPhotograph: Cj Gunther/EPANew England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick talk on the field.Photograph: Cj Gunther/EPANew England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick talk on the field.Associated Press2015-03-25T19:24:12ZNFL free-agency grades: New York Jets top the AFChttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/25/nfl-free-agency-grades-new-york-jets-top-the-afc
<p>The Jets now boast an awesome, if familiar, secondary but teams such as the Broncos, Patriots and Chiefs have failed to improve this off-season<br></p><p> <strong>Buffalo Bills</strong></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/25/nfl-free-agency-grades-new-york-jets-top-the-afc">Continue reading...</a>NFLNew York JetsBuffalo BillsNew England PatriotsMiami DolphinsBaltimore RavensPittsburgh SteelersCincinnati BengalsCleveland BrownsTennessee TitansHouston TexansJacksonville JaguarsIndianapolis ColtsSan Diego ChargersOakland RaidersKansas City ChiefsDenver BroncosSportUS sportsWed, 25 Mar 2015 09:00:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/mar/25/nfl-free-agency-grades-new-york-jets-top-the-afcPhotograph: Getty ImagesHaloti Ngata (right) was an integral part of the Ravens defense.Photograph: Getty ImagesHaloti Ngata (right) was an integral part of the Ravens defense.Photograph: Jim Rogash/Getty ImagesVince Wilfork will form a potentially terrifying partnership with JJ Watt and Jadeveon Clowney.Photograph: Jim Rogash/Getty ImagesVince Wilfork will form a potentially terrifying partnership with JJ Watt and Jadeveon Clowney.Photograph: Bob Pearson/EPAPeyton Manning has returned to the Broncos for another year - but does he have the supporting cast to succeed?Photograph: Bob Pearson/EPAPeyton Manning has returned to the Broncos for another year - but does he have the supporting cast to succeed?Photograph: Rich Schulz/APDarrelle Revis is back with the New York Jets, the team where he made his name.Photograph: Rich Schulz/APDarrelle Revis is back with the New York Jets, the team where he made his name.Paolo Bandini2015-03-25T09:00:08ZNFL owners reject new replay proposals but beef up on safetyhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/24/nfl-owners-reject-new-replay-proposals-but-beef-up-on-safety
<ul><li>Coaches will not be given more challenges</li><li>Third party can rule on player safety<br></li></ul><p>NFL owners shot down nearly every video replay proposal brought to their meetings on Tuesday, while approving six safety rules enhancements.<br /></p><p>Of the 13 alterations, including extending the number of coaches’ challenges and letting them challenge penalty calls, the only one passed will allow game officials to go to replay for clock issues at the end of a half, game or overtime if more than one second is on the clock. Washington’s suggestion to use replay to review personal fouls was withdrawn.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/24/nfl-owners-reject-new-replay-proposals-but-beef-up-on-safety">Continue reading...</a>NFLUS sportsSportTue, 24 Mar 2015 20:42:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/24/nfl-owners-reject-new-replay-proposals-but-beef-up-on-safetyPhotograph: Chris Szagola/ Chris Szagola/Zuma Press/CorbisJulian Edelman (left) played on after a heavy hit in the Super Bowl.Photograph: Chris Szagola/ Chris Szagola/Zuma Press/CorbisJulian Edelman (left) played on after a heavy hit in the Super Bowl.Associated Press2015-03-24T20:42:19ZAgent says it's not in Adrian Peterson's 'best interest' to stay with Vikingshttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/24/agent-says-its-not-in-adrian-petersons-best-interest-to-stay-with-vikings
<ul><li>Six-time Pro Bowl running back was suspended without pay in November</li><li>Agent says it’s not in Peterson’s ‘best interest’ to remain with Minnesota</li><li>Team’s owner says ‘Adrian is an important part of the Minnesota Vikings’</li></ul><p>Adrian Peterson’s future at the Minnesota Vikings looks increasingly uncertain after his agent said it is not in the player’s “best interest” to stay with the team.</p><p>In November, Peterson was suspended without pay for the rest of the season, having been found to have violated the NFL’s personal conduct for “abusive discipline he inflicted on his four-year-old son”. Peterson’s ban was vacated in February after an appeal of the NFL Players Association.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/24/agent-says-its-not-in-adrian-petersons-best-interest-to-stay-with-vikings">Continue reading...</a>NFLSportUS sportsMinnesota VikingsTue, 24 Mar 2015 13:55:16 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/24/agent-says-its-not-in-adrian-petersons-best-interest-to-stay-with-vikingsPhotograph: Brendan Mcdermid/REUTERSSuspended Vikings running back Adrian Peterson exits following his hearing against the NFL over his punishment for child abuse in New York in December.Tom Lutz2015-03-24T13:55:16ZNFL to end local television blackout policyhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/23/nfl-to-end-local-television-blackout-policy
<ul><li>Team owners vote for one-year suspension of policy</li><li>Policy did not come into play last season<br></li></ul><p>The NFL will not block any games from local television during the 2015 season.</p><p>The league said on Monday that team owners voted for a one-year suspension of the long-standing blackout policy for the preseason and regular season. There were no blackouts last season, because the minimum number of tickets was sold for every game, and the league had only two blackouts in 2013.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/23/nfl-to-end-local-television-blackout-policy">Continue reading...</a>NFLSportUS sportsMon, 23 Mar 2015 21:36:20 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/23/nfl-to-end-local-television-blackout-policyPhotograph: Kim Klement/USA Today SportsTeams such as Tampa Bay have struggled to avoid blackouts in the past.Photograph: Kim Klement/USA Today SportsTeams such as Tampa Bay have struggled to avoid blackouts in the past.Associated Press2015-03-23T21:36:20ZSXsports: Sports-focused spinoff of SXSW grows up in sophomore yearhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/23/sxsports-sports-focused-spinoff-of-sxsw-grows-up-in-sophomore-year
<p>Screenings and panels by the dozen, accidental run-ins with Drew Brees: after a strong rookie year, SXSW’s sports-focused offshoot is more sprawling than ever</p><p>John Tejada is sitting at a table near East 6th Street, a wide avenue running through the heart of downtown Austin, Texas. It’s the city’s version of Bourbon Street, with countless bars separated only by kitschy tourist shops. All around him, local teenagers in sundresses and twentysomething tech entrepreneurs sporting their own company’s fluorescent sunglasses are stumbling in and out of the bars as they soak in the 80F heat. It’s adult spring break, otherwise known as SXSW. </p><p>The 10-day event started out as a music festival nearly 30 years ago. It’s since morphed into a gathering point for the tech, music and film industries. There are thousands of panels on ways to run a start-up, blockbuster film premieres, performances by Kanye West, Miley Cyrus and soon-to-be-famous local bands. Tejada is in town covering SXSW for Adweek, and he’s made his way to 6th Street to grab a food truck cheesesteak.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/22/sxsw-2015-10-things-we-learned">SXSW 2015: 10 things we learned</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/16/judd-apatows-trainwreck-stays-on-the-right-track-at-sxsw">Judd Apatow's Trainwreck stays on the right track at SXSW</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/23/sxsports-sports-focused-spinoff-of-sxsw-grows-up-in-sophomore-year">Continue reading...</a>US sportsSXSW 2015SportSXSWNFLMLSUFCMon, 23 Mar 2015 21:23:47 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/23/sxsports-sports-focused-spinoff-of-sxsw-grows-up-in-sophomore-yearPhotograph: Hugh Gerald Hanan/Getty Images for SXSWCharles Barkley speaks at a SXsports panel entitled How to Remain Relevant In Today’s Digital Age.Photograph: Hugh Gerald Hanan/Getty Images for SXSWCharles Barkley speaks at a SXsports panel entitled How to Remain Relevant In Today’s Digital Age.Photograph: Danielle Elliot for the GuardianDanielle Elliot in Austin2015-03-23T21:23:47ZSuper Bowl winner Darren Sharper sentenced to nine years in prisonhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/23/super-bowl-winner-darren-sharper-reaches-plea-deal-over-charges
<ul><li>Accused of assaults in four separate states</li><li>Sentenced to nine years in Arizona prison<br></li></ul><p>The former NFL star Darren Sharper removed all doubt on Monday that he drugged and raped women, taking the first of several legal steps to own up to sex assaults in four states that will send him to federal prison for nine years.</p><p>He pleaded guilty to sexual assault in Arizona and no contest in California to raping two women he knocked out with a potent sedative mixed with alcohol.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/23/super-bowl-winner-darren-sharper-reaches-plea-deal-over-charges">Continue reading...</a>NFLNew Orleans SaintsGreen Bay PackersSportUS sportsMon, 23 Mar 2015 16:51:42 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/23/super-bowl-winner-darren-sharper-reaches-plea-deal-over-chargesPhotograph: Bob Chamberlin/APDarren Sharper is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting women when they were unconscious.Photograph: Bob Chamberlin/APDarren Sharper is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting women when they were unconscious.Associated Press2015-03-23T16:51:42ZMichael Sam works for another chance at NFL glory: 'I'm a fighter'http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/22/michael-sam-nfl-veterans-combine-football
<p>First openly gay player drafted had a tough time last year, but the initial NFL veterans combine brings hope: Sam will go to ‘whoever wants me’</p><p>The strain and sweat on their faces showed just how much one more chance in the NFL means to Michael Sam and 104 others.</p><p>Except for pro days for college players entering the draft, March isn’t usually a time for running sprints and drills before scouts. Then again, these “veterans” will take any opportunity to prove their worth.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/22/michael-sam-nfl-veterans-combine-football">Continue reading...</a>NFLSportUS sportsLGBT rightsWorld newsSun, 22 Mar 2015 21:22:43 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/22/michael-sam-nfl-veterans-combine-footballPhotograph: Jasen Vinlove/USA Today SportsMichael Sam is hoping for another shot at the NFL.Photograph: Jasen Vinlove/USA Today SportsMichael Sam is hoping for another shot at the NFL.Associated Press2015-03-22T21:22:43ZPittsburgh Steelers re-sign linebacker James Harrison to two-year dealhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/22/pittsburgh-steelers-re-sign-linebacker-james-harrison-to-two-year-deal
<ul><li>Player will turn 37 in May</li><li>Lineback entering 13th season in the NFL<br></li></ul><p>The Pittsburgh Steelers have re-signed linebacker James Harrison to a two-year deal, bringing back the 36-year-old who had 5.5 sacks last year.</p><p>The team announced the deal on Sunday, and Harrison shared a picture of himself signing the contract on Instagram and Twitter.<br /> </p><p>I'm back <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/steelersnation?src=hash">#steelersnation</a> <a href="https://t.co/2K2Qq9vdfT">https://t.co/2K2Qq9vdfT</a></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/22/pittsburgh-steelers-re-sign-linebacker-james-harrison-to-two-year-deal">Continue reading...</a>Pittsburgh SteelersNFLSportUS sportsSun, 22 Mar 2015 17:47:32 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/22/pittsburgh-steelers-re-sign-linebacker-james-harrison-to-two-year-dealPhotograph: APJames Harrison has been named to the Pro Bowl five times.Photograph: APJames Harrison has been named to the Pro Bowl five times.Associated Press2015-03-22T17:47:32ZParents rethink youth football as safety fears drive NFL linebacker to retire at 24http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/22/youth-football-49ers-chris-borland-retires
<p>Families weigh love of the game against their children’s health after Chris Borland exits sport and coaches turn to safety training: ‘Education changes behavior’</p><p>Dr Steven Fisher has a decision to make. </p><p>It’s an agonizing one.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/18/chris-borland-on-his-early-nfl-retirement-football-could-kill-you">Chris Borland on his early NFL retirement: 'Football could kill you'</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/22/youth-football-49ers-chris-borland-retires">Continue reading...</a>NFLSportUS sportsParents and parentingLife and styleSun, 22 Mar 2015 13:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/22/youth-football-49ers-chris-borland-retiresPhotograph: Fort George G. Meade Public Affairs Office/flickrChildren’s football is in the spotlight amid injuries. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ftmeade/15524304719/">Photograph: Fort George G. Meade Public Affairs Office/flickr</a>Photograph: Fort George G. Meade Public Affairs Office/flickrChildren’s football is in the spotlight amid injuries. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ftmeade/15524304719/">Photograph: Fort George G. Meade Public Affairs Office/flickr</a>Photograph: William Wootton/flickrSome coaches are opting for training programs to better ensure athletes’ safety. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwootton/15887587618/">Photograph: William Wootton/flickr</a>Photograph: William Wootton/flickrSome coaches are opting for training programs to better ensure athletes’ safety. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwootton/15887587618/">Photograph: William Wootton/flickr</a>Photograph: USA Today Sports/ReutersSan Francisco 49ers inside linebacker Chris Borland (50) is retiring from the NFL over health concerns related to repeated head trauma.Photograph: USA Today Sports/ReutersSan Francisco 49ers inside linebacker Chris Borland (50) is retiring from the NFL over health concerns related to repeated head trauma.Steve Brenner2015-03-22T13:00:01ZChuck Bednarik, NFL player and Hall of Famer, dies at 89http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/21/chuck-bednarik-nfl-philadelphia-eagles-dies-at-89
<p>Known as ‘Concrete Charlie’, the pro-football great was a tough-guy linebacker and an outstanding center for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1949 to 1962</p><p>Chuck Bednarik, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and one of the last great two-way NFL players, died early Saturday, the Eagles said. He was 89. </p><p>Bednarik, known as “Concrete Charlie”, epitomized the tough-guy linebacker and also was an outstanding center for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1949 to 1962. He is best remembered for a game-saving tackle at the nine-yard line on the final play of the 1960 title game, and it was typical Bednarik. He threw Green Bay running back Jim Taylor to the ground and refused to let him up while the final seconds ticked off as the Eagles held on for a 17-13 win. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/21/chuck-bednarik-nfl-philadelphia-eagles-dies-at-89">Continue reading...</a>NFLUS sportsFootballSat, 21 Mar 2015 15:40:30 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/21/chuck-bednarik-nfl-philadelphia-eagles-dies-at-89Photograph: APBednarik once said: ‘I’m proud and delighted to have played in that game.’ He is best remembered for a game-saving tackle at the nine-yard line on the final play of the 1960 title game.Associated Press in Philadelphia2015-03-21T15:40:30ZSuper Bowl winner Darren Sharper charged with rape in Las Vegashttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/20/super-bowl-winner-darren-sharper-charged-with-in-las-vegas
<ul><li>Already facing charges in three other states</li><li>Faces life in prison if found guilty<br></li></ul><p>Rape charges have been filed in Las Vegas against the former NFL safety Darren Sharper, who already faces sexual assault charges in Los Angeles, New Orleans and the Phoenix area.<br /></p><p>Sharper’s Las Vegas attorney, David Chesnoff, appeared on Friday before a Las Vegas judge to stemming from allegations that the former player forced sex on two women in January 2014. Chesnoff says Justice of the Peace Janiece Marshall set a court hearing for 3 April. Each count carries a possible sentence of 10 years to life in Nevada state prison.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/20/super-bowl-winner-darren-sharper-charged-with-in-las-vegas">Continue reading...</a>NFLLas VegasGreen Bay PackersNew Orleans SaintsSportUS newsUS sportsFri, 20 Mar 2015 16:42:27 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/20/super-bowl-winner-darren-sharper-charged-with-in-las-vegasPhotograph: Mario Anzuoni/ReutersDarren Sharper faces life in prison if found guilty.Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/ReutersDarren Sharper faces life in prison if found guilty.Associated Press2015-03-20T16:42:27ZOur favourite things this week: from football cartoons to Mike Tyson quoteshttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/20/favourite-things-this-week-football-cartoons-mike-tyson-quotes
<p>Featuring one of the greatest bowling stories ever told, iconic photos of cricket and Crewe, ideas for F1, America’s lost love of golf and Chris Borland’s future<br></p><p>Last week Chris Borland was a 24-year-old living his dream of playing professional football in the NFL. He had a long and lucrative career ahead of him at the San Francisco 49ers, where he was paid a little under $1m a year. But that part of his life is now finished. Borland has looked at the evidence that links the sport to concussions and serious head injuries and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&amp;v=n73GFvAyIjs#t=38">he does not want to risk his life for a game</a>. He stands to lose a lot of money, but he’ll only ever be given one body and one brain, so he is prioritising his health over his bank balance: </p><p>“If it could potentially kill you – I know that’s a drastic way to put it, but it is a possibility – that really puts it in perspective. To me, it just wasn’t what I wanted to do. I can relate from the outside looking in that it wouldn’t make sense to a lot of people, and I’ve had close friends who have said, ‘Well, why don’t you just play one more year, it’s a lot more money, you probably won’t get hurt.’ I just don’t want to get in a situation where I’m negotiating my health for money. Who knows how many hits is too many? It hurt to know that I was going to let the fans and the team down, but I just had to live my life.”</p><p>I think the immediacy of sport – and football in particular – is hard to capture in comic form. In fact, it rarely translates well to any art form. The history of TV and cinema is peppered with buttock-clenching examples of dreadful football scenes (the same applies to nightclub scenes, by the way). There are notable exceptions, of course. Roy of the Rovers set the benchmark for football comics for decades and there are people working today who have been able to master the movement and drama of the game. <a href="https://twitter.com/rpiersrayner"><strong>Richard Piers Rayner</strong></a>, for example, creates watercolour renditions of scenes from Middlesbrough FC’s history that are so beautiful they make me feel like a fraud for even owning a drawing board.</p><p>Finally completed my A-Z project, here's the full set in case you missed any - <a href="http://t.co/FqixdYh28r">pic.twitter.com/FqixdYh28r</a></p><p>It’s been years since the increasingly unpopular sport of golf plunked into the rough, and the industry now is realizing that it may not be able to ever get out. All the qualities that once made it so elite and exclusive are, analysts say, now playing against it. The game – with its drivers, clubs, shoes and tee times – is expensive both to prepare for and to play. It’s difficult, dissuading amateurs from giving it a swing, and time-consuming, limiting how much fans can play. Even what loyalists would say are strengths – its simplicity, its traditionalism – can seem overly austere in an age of fitness classes, extreme races and iPhone games.</p><p>The man who began the Football League in 1888 was a Scotsman, William McGregor. He was from Perthshire, moved to Birmingham as a draper, teetotaller and active Congregationalist, and became a director of Aston Villa, his local club. He was against professionalism in football when it started in 1885, then saw the benefits. But having to pay players a regular wage became difficult when matches got cancelled for Cup replays or teams did not turn up. Hard to believe it now, when having some sort of league seems so obvious, that for 25 years after the FA was formed in 1863, football had managed without a league. All they did was play endless friendlies or Cup games. McGregor’s proposal, which led to the first football league in the world, was as much a commercial as a sporting consideration – he persuaded the 12 founding clubs that having a league system would give them guaranteed fixtures. <br /></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/20/favourite-things-this-week-football-cartoons-mike-tyson-quotes">Continue reading...</a>SportFootballBoxingMike TysonNFLUS sportsCricketFri, 20 Mar 2015 14:58:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/20/favourite-things-this-week-football-cartoons-mike-tyson-quotesPhotograph: Andrew Fosker/Rex FeaturesSachin Tendulkar celebrates his 100th century for IndiaPhotograph: Andrew Fosker/Rex FeaturesSachin Tendulkar celebrates his 100th century for IndiaPhotograph: Tony Davis/WSC photographyCrewe Alexandra’s training ground shoot, 2002.Photograph: Tony Davis/WSC photographyCrewe Alexandra’s training ground shoot, 2002.Paul Campbell2015-03-20T14:58:53ZNFL competition committee to present proposal for bonus pointhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/18/nfl-competition-committee-to-present-proposal-for-bonus-point
<ul><li>Use of video replays will also be discussed</li><li>Playoffs may be expanded from 12 to 14 teams<br></li></ul><p>Significant changes to the use of video replay – including reviewing all fouls called by game officials – as well as a proposed “bonus point” will be presented by the NFL’s competition committee at next week’s owners meetings.</p><p>One of the most striking proposals would give teams that successfully convert a two-point conversion the chance to immediately add another point from midfield with a “bonus field goal.”</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/18/nfl-competition-committee-to-present-proposal-for-bonus-point">Continue reading...</a>NFLSportUS sportsWed, 18 Mar 2015 20:33:34 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/18/nfl-competition-committee-to-present-proposal-for-bonus-pointPhotograph: Jeff Hanisch/USA Today SportsTeams could have the option to go for a bonus point after a two-point conversion in the future.Photograph: Jeff Hanisch/USA Today SportsTeams could have the option to go for a bonus point after a two-point conversion in the future.Associated Press2015-03-18T20:33:34Z